Comedian Hannibal Buress may best be known to some as the comedian who ignited the Bill Cosby firestorm, but he’s also a hilarious standup and television star, lending his talent to two of the funniest, most progressive comedies on television, Broad City and The Eric Andre Show.
He appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin last night to discuss two things: first, that he’s been receiving death threats from Bill Cosby supporters, and second, that he managed to become a rockstar overnight.
Buress frequently likes to prove he can ply trades beyond comedy. He briefly spent time as an NBA reporter for ESPN, and yesterday at SXSW, he took to Twitter in an attempt to become a certified rockstar.
I’m in Austin and i will play drums in your band tomorrow between 12-5pm. I can’t play drums. It’ll be bad
— Hannibal Buress (@hannibalburess) March 18, 2015
Lucky for Hannibal, local rockers Speedy Ortiz were performing a set that day, and were more than happy to let Buress wail on the skins for a few songs.
hey @hannibalburess yr cordially invited to drum with speedy ortiz at the @pitchfork showcase at @mohawkaustin, 1 pm. or we could get pizza — sadie dupuis (@killquilty) March 18, 2015
Speedy frontwoman Sadie Dupuis wasn’t sure if Buress was serious, but he made himself clear.
@killquilty don’t lol me. I’m en route and expecting to gig.
— Hannibal Buress (@hannibalburess) March 18, 2015
In true rockstar fashion, Buress was late to his own gig. When fellow Boston rock legends Krill reached out on Twitter, they found Buress was stuck in traffic.
@krilliamhmacy @killquilty @malfc I’m stuck in traffic. Late to my first gig — Hannibal Buress (@hannibalburess) March 18, 2015
Eventually, Hannibal made it.
But the honeymoon didn’t last. When Buress went on Kimmel’s show, they talked about his performance, only for Hannibal to reveal he didn’t even remember the name of the band.
Jimmy Kimmel: And what was the band?
Hannibal Buress: The band is named, I — uhh… This is just horrible right now.
JK: Yeah, this is your band. You don’t even know your band’s name. This is their big moment at SXSW and their drummer can’t even remember their name!
[audience laughter]
HB: This is really bad. I’m disappointed in myself.
JK: You know, we have plenty of time.
HB: You don’t have the name?!
JK: I don’t.
HB: What about your Research Department? Why you putting it on me? You all have been working. I’ve been out in the streets getting drunk. Of course, I can’t remember that!
Hard to argue with that. But since Hannibal couldn’t give Speedy a shoutout on national TV after they let him drum, we’ll go ahead and point you to the official Speedy Ortiz Bandcamp page and give you some music from Speedy and Krill because why not.
